,'y'Ji.iy\f,H —^ 



I5A.I.I i:kk r:ri'.— .i/fl//M jjctiuiimii/ia. 



Wk now come to n siiif^ular ^:roui) of animals, tlic fii"st of wliicli is the Dajjkr- 

 KEIT, or Shout Tailki) Mams, anvatmv that is irmarkat)le for tlu' scries of sliarj)- 

 cdj^ed lioniy plates that rovor tho hody niid serve as armour ami \veai)<)ns ot 

 oftbnce. 



"When the Manis is pm-sued, ami is unahie to eseape, it rolls itself into a hall, 

 after the manner of the lu'di;ehog, so that the sharp-edged and acutely pointi-d 

 scales stand holdly outward, and can inflict verj' unpleasant wounds on the hand 

 of man or the mouth of ])redaceous hcast. The head is the most Nuhierahle j)art 

 of the Manis, but as it always takes caiv to hide it^ head within the eurve of the 

 body, it has little fears on that score. 



It feeds on various insects, especially on aiils. \\huh it sci/cs by licking tlum 

 up with its slimy tongue. Of this species Sir lOmmerson Tenncnt says : " The 

 only example in Ceylon is the scaly ant-cater, called by the Sinhalese, Caballaya, 

 but usually known by its Malay name of Pengolin, a word indicative of its faculty 

 of 'rolling itself up' into a compact Ijidl, by bending its head towards its stomach, 

 arching its back into a circle, and securing all by a j)owerful hold of its mail- 

 covered tail. When at liberty, they burrow in the dry ground to a depth of 

 seven or eight feet, where they reside in paii-s, and produce annually two or three 

 young." 



B41 n 



